SPL bottom club Gretna have been deducted ten points after going into administration following the severing of all financial support from owner Brooks Mileson.

A spokeswoman for the club, which is situated on the English-Scottish borders, said that administrators Wilson Field have taken control and that more information would be released.

The club could face closure if they fail to pay a £30,000 by tomorrow at the time of writing - Thursday March 13.

League rules mean ten points are automatically subtracted from a club's total for that season once they take the step of handing over the control their finances to a third party.

Players and staff have been unpaid for several months at the club whose ascent from non-league to the SPL was bankrolled by Mileson, who is critically ill in hopsital.

Mileson, 60, is a millionaire philanthropist who took the reins at Gretna following their election to Division Two in 2002, helping finance their rapid succession of promotions to the SPL under former boss Rowan Alexander, who was sacked earlier this season after being placed on leave late in their ultimately successful 2006/7 promotion campaign.

However, the admission of Mileson - who has a long history of health problems - to hospital for a brain infection earlier this year has seen all financial matters at the club grind to a halt as only he had the authority to authorise payments, including wages.

The club - currently groundsharing at Motherwell's Fir Park as their own ground undergoes development - had attempted to stave off the threat of administration by releasing several players and replacing them with young players an loan signings, but the decision to file for administration earlier in the week has been accepted and the future of Gretna FC is now in serious doubt.

The club's demise is ironic given the circumstances of their election to the Football League, which was at the expense of the folding of Airdreonians.

Gretna have around £4 million worth of debts which low attendances and TV revenue cannot sustain.

Reda Maher / Eurosport